


the past is never where you think you left it

by teeslover



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: A case fic but barely, Exes and such, Ezekiel's old life, Gen, M/M, OCs aren't THAT important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-18 22:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11884044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teeslover/pseuds/teeslover
Summary: There's a serial killer on the loose, but this is no ordinary human. When people start dying, with strange and mysterious circumstances, the Librarians are intrigued. Ezekiel might have something that can help them find who or what is killing, but is he willing to let the rest of them into his old life? (the fic is less dramatic than I'm making it sound :D )





	the past is never where you think you left it

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this a while ago so... the first line may be a bit outdated. :D Also, if anyone wants to know, I fancasted my OCs ^_^ think of them if you want. The girl I've imagined as Arden Cho and the guy as Hunter Page-Lochard. Look them up :0) They're super cool!

“How far are you getting in that _Ethan Must Die_ DLC?” Jake asked Ezekiel, who was currently scrolling through his phone, looking up videos of licking Nintendo Switch cartridges. The two of them were sitting in the main room of the annex, enjoying some well-deserved downtime, shooting the breeze.

“Oh, mate, that mode is a nightmare!” Ezekiel slammed his phone down to adequately express his exasperation. “I lasted maybe 3 minutes my first playthrough before I rage quit. I’ve been playing Clancy’s survival games for practice.”

“That’s a good idea...I could work on my in-game aim a little more.” Jake tapped his chin in consideration. “How ’bout that _Jack’s Birthday_ stuff though, right? I get such a kick out of that!” He chuckled, giving Ezekiel a fist bump. “He’ll just eat anything!”

“Who’ll just eat anything?” The two of them turned towards the door at the question to see their fellow librarian bound down to them, a quizzical expression on her face. “Are you guys messing with the chupacabra again,” Cassandra admonished, “because he won’t make me the good jerky anymore!”

“First of all, no, he apparently just ran out of his ‘special ingredient’ and he’s still waiting on a shipment from Morocco. And to answer your first question,” Ezekiel glanced at Jake, both agreeing that Resident Evil 7 would not be the type of thing that the redhead would be happy to hear about. “Video game, don't worry about it.”

“Where’s Baird and Jenkins?” Jake asked, noting the missing links in their usual fivesome.

“I think they’re polishing up some of the artifacts in the Bronze Era wing, shouldn’t take them-” Before Cassandra could get another word out, the clippings book flew open, alerting them of new magical happenings. “Ooh, we got a case!”

The three young librarians skittered over to the open pages, skimming the newspaper headlines that had spontaneously appeared. “Looks like an area of San Francisco might have a serial killer problem.” Jake pointed out the content that was shared between most of the clippings. “And maybe a cannibal one, at that. Check that out. Missing liver, missing heart, and that guy’s missing both his liver and heart.”

“Well, that’s gross.” Ezekiel scrunched up his nose in disgust, before noticing both Cassandra and Jake’s disapproving looks. “And just terrible! I mean… It’s…Ok, are we gonna go solve this or what? Should I go get Baird?”

“We shouldn't wait, we can catch Eve up later.” Cassandra walked over to the door and typed in the city’s coordinates. “Hopefully we don’t have a run-in with who or whatever’s causing this, that would not be good news for us!” The three stepped into the portal…

 

And tripped right onto a crime scene.

Yellow tape and barricades blocked off the crowd that had started to amass in front of the small alleyway, not that it really did that much, as everyone present kept craning their necks to see the dead body. Police tried their best to keep the hungry media at bay, but their cameras did have a zoom feature for a reason.

The newly arrived librarians weaved within the crowd, trying to get a better look, but continued to get blocked every which way. “All right,” Jake pulled Cassandra and Ezekiel out of the herd and into a less populated pocket of space. “We’re getting nowhere with this. Jones, how ‘bout you find out what the people know and Cass and I can try to fish something out of the cops?”

“What, I can’t deal with the cops?” Ezekiel scoffed, crossing his arms.

“When have you ever played nice with the authorities?” Cassandra pointed out, already starting to drag Jake towards the nearest barricade.

“...You got me there. Meet back here in 15 minutes!”

10 minutes later, Cassandra and Jake sat on the curb across the street from the crime scene, heads in their hands. “Well, that was a bust.” Cassandra huffed, leaning back onto her elbows. “We should come back with Eve, she can flash her NATO credentials, then maybe someone will actually acknowledge us!”

“Yeah, well, might not've been a total waste. Looks like Jones may have gotten something out of these people.” Jake pointed to Ezekiel, who was walking towards them, typing something into his phone. “What d’ya got?”

“Hey, so I must've asked like 20 people and they couldn't tell me anything we don't already know. 4 dead, all missing their hearts or livers.”

“That's all you could get?”

“Well, this one college kid said he saw a girl with a tail walking through the alley, but he was tripping pretty hard, so we should probably take that with a grain of salt.”

“What were you just typing?”

“Oh, a pizza place the stoner guy suggested. He swears that they have dancing mushrooms and swimming anchovies as toppings. I wrote it down to make him happy.”

Cassandra and Jake rolled their eyes, turning around to face a door belonging to a building behind them. “Ok, well, let's get Eve and see if that changes anything for us.” Cassandra pulled out her phone, dialing Jenkins for a door back home.

In a few minutes, the crack underneath the door shined a bright blue, signaling the portal opening up.

“I can't believe you got lunch recommendations from a stoner.” Cassandra chuckled as she walked through the door.

“Hey, weed does not lead to bad taste buds, all right?” Ezekiel called after her, giving Jake, who had paused to shoot him a disbelieving look, a push through. Just before Ezekiel went to follow, he stopped. Something felt...off. He turned around, scanning the crowd across the street, before his eyes settled on someone, unmoving and seemingly unperturbed by the commotion of the crime scene.

A woman with long dark brown hair and white highlights was looking in his direction. She didn't seem to notice, or even care about, the large glowing door, staring directly into Ezekiel’s eyes. She cocked her head to the side, the same way a dog would when interested in something, and slowly blinked. Even from this distance, Ezekiel could see that her eyes were extremely bright, a shade of yellow that almost resembled a neon glow stick in the dark.

Ezekiel couldn’t look away. It was as if he was caught looking at something he shouldn't and, even if he turned away now, his presence was already known. He was about to walk toward her, curiosity getting the better of him, when Jake stuck his head out the door.

“Jones, come on, what's keeping ya!”

“Uhh, sorry,” Ezekiel whirled back around to address his fellow librarian’s head. “I got distracted.”

“What? The stoner wanted to give you another suggestion? Let’s go!” Jake disappeared as Ezekiel took one last glance at the woman, who was still standing there, a small smile pulling on her lips, her glowing eyes looking him up and down. Ezekiel shook his head clear and stepped into the Library.

 

 

At the main table, Eve and Jenkins were reading over the clippings book while Cassandra recapped their recent excursion in Bay City. “So, yeah, didn't get anything from the detectives. We’ll probably get better results if you came along this time.”

“I agree.” Eve tapped one of the newspaper entries in the book. “So all we know now is that someone, or most likely something, is running around… Eating hearts and/or livers?”

“Well, those parts are just missing. We don't know if they’re being eaten for sure,” Ezekiel pointed out.

“I feel like I'll regret knowing, but what else would human hearts and livers be used for?” Eve asked, directing her question more towards Jenkins than anyone else.

“There are a couple of spells and potions that require them,” Jenkins replied, looking over a couple of stray papers on the table. “But they are considered to be delicacies, especially among...certain circles. So I would say it’s a good bet that they're being eaten.”

“Good to know. All right, Jenkins, fire up the door again.” Eve turned to her three librarians. “Cassandra, you come with me so we can cover more ground. Stone and Ezekiel, stay here with Jenkins and try to find anything you can about...whatever this could be. Let’s try to find this thing before someone else dies.”

After about 15 minutes of investigating and research on both sides, Eve and Cassandra hopped back into the Library to find Jenkins and Ezekiel staring at a chalkboard with crossed out names, while Jake was on the upper level yelling out potential candidates.

“Ahh, Colonel, Ms. Cillian, you're just in time. So far, we have narrowed down the suspect pool to these three.” Jenkins stood next to the board and circled two names at the top right and one name at the bottom left. “Of course, new artifacts are being made all the time, so there's a chance it might not even be any of these.”

“What’d you guys find out from the cops?” Jake asked, throwing a book down to Ezekiel in order to grab an even thicker one from the shelves above.

“Not much,” Cassandra sighed, scooting a couple books down to make herself a spot to sit on the table. “They were even more clueless than we are, unsurprisingly.”

“The only definitive thing they could tell us was that this latest victim, 27 year old Garrett Serlo, texted a friend about a bad date,” Eve paused, flipping through the  
notepad one of the detectives lent to her. “Before some girl approached him, offering to buy him a drink. The last text was sent at 1:30 AM from Serlo and I quote, She went to get a smoke. Dude this girl’s eyes are like tiny suns, no joke! Shes soooo hot imma try take her home tonight. So, yeah, not much help.”

“Hmm, not necessarily.” Jenkins turned back to the board, a piece of chalk in hand. “If this woman was the last person to see our poor victim, she could very well be our culprit. And if he was so entranced by her, then it couldn’t have been the Donner jar or a pontianak… and Prometheus’s Eagle would just be inconvenient. ” He crossed all three names out.

“How do you know?” Cassandra asked, moving closer to the board to see what was left. “And what’s a pont-something?”

“The jar was recovered from the remains of the Donner party expedition and it turns anyone who puts something in it into a cannibalistic zombie,” Jake came downstairs, flipping through the thick book. “That girl didn't sound too zombie-like. The Eagle is this giant bronze statue that comes alive and picks out your victim’s liver, but she probably wasn’t carrying that around with her to kill someone in a back alley.

“And the pontianak is a female Indonesian spirit that rips out her victim’s organs through the stomach with her bare hands. Now, it could be that, but legend says they mimic a baby’s cry to signal their presence… probably not too appealing to a 20-something guy in a bar.”

Eve and Cassandra looked at each other, slightly disgusted, but not all that surprised. There were a lot of strange things in history, after all. “That sounds...”

“Very unpleasant, yeah,” Eve finished. “So we’re back to square one.”

“Wait!” Ezekiel cried, popping out from his corner of the library, shutting the book Jake threw down to him closed. “What did that guy say about the girl at the bar?”

Eve looked back down at the notes scribbled in the pad. “That she was a smoker? Or that she had tiny suns for eyes?”

“The second one... I think I saw the same girl.” At everyone’s confused expressions, Ezekiel elaborated. “When you guys went in the door, I hung back because there was this girl staring at us. I thought it was because she noticed, you know, the big blue glow, but she just kept looking at me. Brown hair, white streaks… And her eyes were yellow. Like unnaturally bright yellow.”

“Wha-? And you’re just mentioning this now?” Jenkins sputtered out, shuffling through papers and books, armed with this new information.

“I forgot about it until Baird mentioned it! Out of all the weird things that happen to us, a girl staring at me is not the strangest! Anyway, I might have another idea about what this girl could be!” Ezekiel ran to a shelf under the stairs, scanning the stacks for a certain encyclopedia, the Compendium of Korean Literature. “The yellow eyes don’t actually narrow things down, but if we’re talking pretty, supernatural girls, there’s this shapeshifting fox from Korean myth that seduces men to eat their hearts.” He opened the encyclopedia in front of the group, pointing to a line art picture of a nine-tailed fox.

“A kitsune?” Jenkins wondered aloud, moving the book closer to him.

“Uhh, no, kitsune are Japanese. And they’re trickster spirits, they don’t usually kill people for funsies. This is called a kumiho. Like I said, legends always talk about how they transform into beautiful women to attract men and then...eat their insides.”

“That means that stoner guy who said he saw some girl with a tail wasn’t hallucinating! Unless he was, because why would she keep the tail? That’s kind of revealing. Unless it grows back out after she eats...” Cassandra rambled, before suddenly questioning, “Wait, is this a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Good, Ms. Cillian. However elusive or dangerous it may be, we now know exactly what we’re up against. Sharp work, Mr. Jones.” Jenkins complimented, going back to erase the blackboard.

“Ok, making progress, we know what it is,” Eve clapped, turning the attention back to her. “How do we find a shapeshifter whose only discernible feature are her glowy eyes? And a tail that may or not be hallucinatory.”

“We could use some bait.” Jake piped up, glancing at Ezekiel.

“What?! No way!” The youngest librarian exclaimed, crossing his arms. “Why don’t you do it, cowboy?”

“Relax, Jones, I was kidding.” Jake grinned, leaning back on the table. “But we can’t just sit on our asses until someone else dies.”

“Is there anything in the Library that tracks mystical animals in disguise?” Eve asked Jenkins, who had just walked back in after storing the blackboard.

“Not exactly. There’s a couple that will attract animals, Pan’s Flute, Pied Piper’s pipe, the usual. Though that will bring mostly mice and goats to you.” Jenkins tapped his chin in thought. “Hmm, you could use Auguste Dupin’s quill... No, that only identifies _human_ murderers… Ludendorff's monocle? What am I saying, that's not even relevant… The Eye of Horus protects against most supernatural dangers if being bait is the only viable option.”

“Hold on,” Ezekiel interrupted, “the eye! Not Horus’s, but there’s another myth about this three eyed dog that's supposed to be able to sense kumiho.”

“The samjo...samjokgu?” Jake questioned, pointing at a passage in the encyclopedia. “Three legs or three eyes, depending on the legend?”

“That’s it!”

“Where do we get one of those? We just summon up a demon dog to find a homicidal magic fox?” Cassandra exclaimed, flailing her arms around to punctuate her disbelief.

“No, that’s crazy.” Ezekiel responded, amused. Cassandra opened her mouth, presumably to say something along the lines of _That’s the craziest thing in this situation?_

But before she got two words out, Jenkins cut her off. “No need to go that far, Ms. Cillian. If I’m remembering my Korean folk tales correctly, there's a famous story about a Grand Duke who exposed the king’s new wife as this malevolent fox with one of these three-eyed dogs.” At Ezekiel’s agreeing nod, Jenkins continued, pulling out a drawer to flip through the card catalog it contained. “There was a small statue made to commemorate this samjokgu and it was passed down within the royal families to ensure they would never fall for such trickery again.” He yanked a card out, revealing it to his present company. “If we can get this artifact, we’ll be able to find the kumiho.”

“Ok, great, but how exactly are we going to get it? I assume it’s been donated to some museum somewhere in Korea that’s no doubt heavily guarded…” Eve trailed off and looked at Ezekiel, who was biting a nail, maintaining eye contact with the ground. “You’ve stolen it, haven’t you?”

Ezekiel rocked back and forth on his heels before answering. “.... Yes, but I don’t exactly...have it anymore.”

Everyone groaned, a mixture of disappointed sighs and utterances of his name.

“Hey, if it wasn’t for me, you guys wouldn’t even know what to look for!” Ezekiel cried, defiant. “Would it hurt for someone other than Jenkins to show a little more appre-” he stopped for a good 3 seconds, then sighed heavily. “I know where it is.” Everyone looked at him expectantly. “We gotta go to Melbourne.”

 

* * *

 

 

 “Who is this person, Jones?” The three librarians and their guardian were currently walking through a fairly empty street that had tiny shops and boutiques on either side. After Ezekiel just mumbled something about an antique shop in his hometown before going through the portal, Jake required more information.

“It's an old friend of mine.” Ezekiel stopped to address his companions. “When I sto-...obtained the statue, it also happened to be my mate’s birthday, I forgot to get a present, so I gave it to her. I know she kept it, even though I convinced her it was just a replica, ‘cause it was… from me.”

“Wait a minute, what happened to Mr. “No ties to anyone in the real world”? Cassandra said, trying and failing to mimic Ezekiel’s accent.

Ezekiel kept his head down as he turned a corner. “I haven't seen her in… Oh, I don't even know how long it's been. It’s just… it's complicated, all right?”

Cassandra and Jake both smirked knowingly. “Is this girl… your ex, Ezekiel?” Eve inquired, also breaking into a smile.

“What? No, no! No way!” Ezekiel waved his arms in front of him in an effort to convince them of his disgust. “It wasn't like that at all!” No change in facial expression. “Seriously, guys! We were friends, we weren't… Oh, forget it, come on, the shop’s right up here.”

The shop was small, with only one window to show off the goods inside. The exterior was painted black, the edges accentuated with gold trim, making it stand out from the white cement building surrounding it. On the door, the store’s name, written in gold and silver in beautiful calligraphy.

Ezekiel stepped forward, his hand lingering over the handle, before lowering it back down to his side. “How about you guys go in first? I just think she'll be more...welcoming if she doesn’t see me first.”

“What difference does it make? You gotta go in and ask her for it anyway.” Jake pointed out, now hovering his hand over the doorknob.

“I know, but this just… Eases her into it more, you know?”

“We don’t, but we’ll humor you.” Eve gave him a pat on the back, then pulled open the door and walked in, Cassandra and Jake trailing behind.

Inside, assortments of plates, dolls, and teapots were lined up against the right wall, all neatly sectioned into their own areas. Vintage silverware, clocks, vinyls and phonographs occupied the other side, carefully stacked on maple brown shelves. Towards the back was a glass case filled with jewelry that probably also served as a checkout counter if the cash register on it was any indication.

As they approached the table, a girl walked out of the back room, arms full of cardboard boxes that undoubtedly contained more antiquities. She was a short Asian girl, maybe a few inches smaller than Ezekiel, with shoulder-length black hair and tanned skin.

“Oh! Hello, I didn't hear you come in!” And had an American accent, with the slightest Aussie lilt. Spotting her three new customers, the girl placed all the boxes near the entrance of the back room and spun to greet the librarians and guardian. “Welcome to Treasure Trove! My name’s Kalia. What can I help you find?”

“Uhh,” Cassandra started, looking back at the entrance, expecting Ezekiel to walk through. Any second now…

A good fifteen seconds of awkward silence followed until the shopkeeper cleared her throat, calling their attention back.

“Sorry,” Jake apologized, “we thought we saw someone outside who was gonna come in. We’re shopping for… umm… a surprise birthday present and it's pretty top-secret.”

“Oh, cool, anything in particular you were searching for?” Kalia asked, more excited now that she knew she was being included in their mission.

“Yes, a statue. It's for our...coworker. He is obsessed with any sort of cute animal...statuette...type things,” Eve managed to stutter out.

“Ok. So are we leaning towards maneki neko, Lucky Cat, sort of thing? Or I’ve got lion statues. I’ve got some taxidermy in the back!” Kalia went to rummage through one of the boxes she had put down. “Oh, and I just received a donation of this golden bear figurine, maybe he'll like that more?”

At that moment, the door was pushed open and in came the last librarian. Kalia continued to sift through the new inventory, shouting out, “Hi, I’ll be right with you!” She popped back up after a few seconds, showing a couple of mini animal statues and keyrings to her first three customers. “How about any of-” she froze, finally noticing the person who had just walked in.

“Hey, Lee.” Ezekiel gave his old friend a sheepish smile. “Been awhile, huh? What, like 3 years…”

“6.” Kalia corrected, not taking her eyes off of him for even a second. “Uhh… Sorry, could you guys excuse me for a quick second?” She blinked, then smiled awkwardly at Eve, Jake, and Cassandra, giving them all the trinkets she had picked up.

“Oh, actually, we’re kind of all… together,” Cassandra mumbled, before rushing to add on, “uhh, not that it matters, did you guys want a minute?” She moved over to Jake’s other side to give Ezekiel more room.

“Lee-” Ezekiel started.

“Mmm, no,” Kalia held up a finger to interrupt him, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “Come to the back with me. Umm, your friends… Feel free to look around for a bit.” She disappeared behind the curtain to the back room. Ezekiel followed, closing the curtain behind him, as the other three discreetly moved near the doorway to eavesdrop.

Kalia leaned against a bookcase, arms crossed. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I know, I owe you a huge explanation, but we're really in a hurry here-”

“Don't you dare pull that shit on me, Ezekiel Jones!” She whispered harshly, scaring him enough to make him immediately back up against the wall. “I haven't seen you in 6 years. 6! And then you just drop in, out of the blue, too busy to explain, with three Americans, trying to find a gift for someone in the office??That's not gonna work for me.”

“I know, I know, you deserve so much more than a quick pop-in, but please, please, this is a life or death situation! I swear,” Ezekiel took her hands in his and pleaded. “I swear on my life, I will explain everything after we’ve dealt with it. I owe you that.”

“I’m not the one you owe an explanation to!”

Ezekiel sighed and squeezed her hands, swaying them slowly. “Yeah... I know. Look, I promise, after this is all over… the three of us… at that tiny bakery, just like old times. I will tell you guys everything.”

“First of all, that shop closed down. Second,” Kalia drew her arms back and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If this is really that important, and you swear we're going to talk about this… then let's not keep your friends waiting any more.” She pulled the curtain back, not noticing the three bodies that quickly scrambled away, and ushered Ezekiel out.

“So anyway,” Kalia started, once everyone was gathered around the front table. “What’s this really about? ‘Cause I can't imagine that finding a birthday present for an imaginary coworker is a matter of life or death.”

“You remember all those stories about ghosts and demons your parents used to tell us about?” Ezekiel paused to look at Eve, who didn't seem too opposed to letting her in on the “magic is real” secret. They were on a clock, after all. “Well, long story really, really short, they're not just fairy tales and one of them’s out there right now… killing people.”

Kalia narrowed her eyes at him. “Riiight… Ok, say I believe that. What is it and what do you need from me?”

“You remember that three eyed dog statue I gave you for your 18th birthday?”

“The samjokgu? What are you looking for, a fox spirit?” She joked, expecting Ezekiel to crack a smile and offer more plausible reasoning. When his expression didn't change, she cleared her throat. “Wow, you're not kidding… You guys are seriously trying to track a kumiho? I mean… that statue isn't fake? All of that… They're all real?”

“Kalia, Ezekiel will tell you later, along with everything else, but we need that statue now, before anyone else gets hurt,” Eve butted in.

“Ooh, you know, it is just like you to drop this bomb on me and leave, Zeke,” she grumbled, pacing the floor. “And you know what else I just realized? You haven’t even said ‘sorry’ yet! For disappearing...for popping back in to ask me for a paperweight you gave me six and a half years ago! And you didn’t say anything, you just left! Nothing, not even a- … a simple Post-it note!” She paused, looking between the four in the store, three of whom she had just met, and straightened up. “Ahem, but we’ll talk about that later. Look, I can’t give you the statue...I don’t have it anymore.”

Jake hit Ezekiel in the arm out of frustration and as he gave a cry of protest, Cassandra scooted them aside to address Kalia. “I know the circumstances are…you know, uncomfortably awkward, but you know how important that statue is. Could you please tell us who or where you gave it away?”

“I gave it to another friend of ours. It was like a… a good luck charm for opening night of The Dry Dock… that’s a bar on Flinders Lane. It’s only, maybe, two blocks from here.”

“Wait,” Ezekiel leaned down on the glass case. “You gave it to Ren? Who owns a bar now?”

“Yes, yes, and before you ask, you’ll have to get it yourself.” Kalia picked up a doll that had skewed out of order on the shelf and corrected it. “As much as I’d like to help, and watch you struggle in front of Ren, I have to watch the shop. Besides, what kind of best friend would I be if I showed up, out of the blue, with an ex-boyfriend and the whole other life he now apparently leads?”

Ezekiel ignored his friends exchanging curious glances behind him and pulled Kaylee in for a hug. “Thanks. And I really am sorry. For everything.” He broke the hug and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly. “I’ll call you later. Promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Now go save people’s lives or whatever.” She shook her head, muttering, “Dear God, we have so much to talk about. “

Back out on the street, Ezekiel once again led Eve, Jake, and Cassandra down to the bar Lee had told them about. He periodically peeked back at them, but didn’t slow down. He didn’t want to give them time to ask the questions that had clearly brewed from their time in the antique shop, which proved pretty ineffective.

“Jones! You're not gonna tell us anything about what just happened? Who was that?” Jake scuttled up near the youngest librarian, getting more interested the faster they walked. “You haven't seen each other in 6 years? Why'd you leave in the first place? And who's the ‘three of us?’”

“Is that who we’re meeting now,” Cassandra jumped in. “Kalia said this Ren girl was your ex… and she's her best friend so that's the three, right?”

Eve sped up to the front of the group, walking backwards to talk to the three of them at the same time. “Guys, let's try to stay focused here, we’re trying to keep people from getting killed!”

“Thank you, Baird! There's more at stake here than learning about my old life!” Ezekiel cried, brushing past the two who had ganged up on him.

Eve slowed down, rubbing her neck. “Even though I’m also wondering why you just picked up and left… and didn't give any reason to your ex and best friend…”

Ezekiel groaned and spun around to face them. “Ok, yes, Ren is my ex, Lee is our best friend, we all met years ago in secondary school. When MI6… recruited me, I had to leave on pretty short notice and there wasn't much I was allowed to say, so I just didn't...Which is why Lee said I have to explain myself and who said anything about Ren being a girl and oh, look, we’re here!”

The bar was a pretty nondescript building, the name of it plastered in small letters on the front door. With dark windows and a dark paint job, it looked like a well kept secret only those in the know could ever find.

Ezekiel opened the door, ushering the three in before they could process what he had just babbled on about and bombard him with even more questions.

It seemed the bar was in the midst of setting up to open for the evening, as all of the chairs were still stacked on each other and the tables were overturned, pushed off to one side. There was a young man at the counter, wiping down the barstools and cleaning glasses, who became momentarily distracted at the group’s presence. “Sorry, mates, we’re not open yet, come back at 8,” he recited lazily, returning to his polishing.

“Uhh, we’re not here for a drink, sorry.” Ezekiel walked up to the guy. “I'm actually looking for Ren. A friend said I could find him here.”

The guy bristled slightly, but didn't bother to look up. “That friend must've lied to you. There's no one here that goes by that name.”

“Come on, mate.” Ezekiel leaned onto the bar counter, dropping his voice down to a whisper. “Cameron West? I… I get it if he doesn't want to see me, I just need one thing, then I'll be out of his hair.”

“Ok,” the guy put his towel down and met Ezekiel’s eyes. “I’m not entirely sure who you or your friends back there are, but I know only one other person ever called him Ren… And I don't know if Cam would be too keen on talking to you.”

“Look, kid!” Jake approached the table and pointed an demanding finger at the bartender. “We’re in a hurry, so whatever you think went down between my friend here and this Ren guy, this is bigger than that! He asked you nicely, so if you could just help us out, we can go and you can keep cleaning your stupid bar before I break everything in it!”

Behind them, Eve and Cassandra silently watched with wide eyes, simply unsure of how they could follow that outburst. Ezekiel sucked air in through his teeth, keeping his eyes on the guy, whose face had twisted into an odd mix of offense, intimidation, and confusion. Before anyone else had a chance to retort, another guy walked out from the back room, who the three not in the know could only assume was “Ren.” He was tall, maybe only a few inches taller than Eve, his dark brown eyes complemented by his black hair and olive skin. He stopped behind the bar and gave the other bartender a pat on the back. “It's okay, Blake. I’ll handle this. Could you… umm... check the beer taps? And, uhh, just make sure everything’s stocked up for tonight?”

The other bartender, Blake, threw his towel over his shoulder and backed away, his gaze staying on the four visitors. “Ok, if you’re sure. Call me if you need me.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, thanks.” Ren flashed him a smile before turning his attention to Ezekiel. “...Hey.” He cleared his throat, the two of them trying their hardest to avoid making eye contact.

“Hey, Ren. Or Cam, or whatever you like to be called these days.” Ezekiel bit his nails, turning unsurely back to Eve, Jake, and Cassandra, who had huddled together, waiting patiently. “Who’s… uhh… your friend back there?”

“Oh, that’s my... partner. Sorry about that, he’s.... Antisocial.” Ren gestured to the three behind them. “And you?”

“Just my co-workers... Anyway, look, I kinda need something.”

“Right, I think you’re looking for this?” Ren muttered, setting a small statue on the bar, no bigger than a quart sized milk carton. It was a glossy black color and resembled a normal German Shepherd, save for the three red marbles atop its head that served as its eyes.

“Yeah.” Ezekiel picked the dog up, turning it over in his hands. He flicked his eyes up to try and meet Ren’s. “How’d you know?”

“Lee texted. Said you were in town… that you would explain everything later?”

“I will, I swear to you, I will. I just have to solve… this thing with my friends, it’s a really long story. I’m- I’m really sorry, but I have to go-”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ren interrupted, focusing on wiping down the bar. “See you when I see you, I guess.”

“Well, uhh…” Ezekiel handed off the statue to Jake, shooting the three of them a look that seemed to read Give me a second. He followed Ren down the bar and put down a hand to stop his progress. “I know you’re probably really mad at me, and I mean, I don’t blame you, but you deserve better than what I did, an explanation at least-”

"Zeke.” Ren nearly whispered, looking him in the eye for the first time since he walked out. “Seriously, it’s fine. I _was_ mad, and hurt, but it’s been six years. I’m over it… ok? Just go, please.”

Ezekiel nodded, turning to join the other three, who had gone to silently watch by the door. “I’ll call- or yeah… ok.” As he pushed open the door, Cassandra and Jake put their hands on his shoulders, only for him to shrug them right off. “Don’t. Let’s just go, all right?”

“Ezekiel, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but we’re here for you.” Back at the library, Eve and Jake stood to the side, while Cassandra and Jenkins gathered all the relevant materials for their hunt.

Ezekiel sat on the stairs, absentmindedly tracing the statue’s features. He closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair. “Ok, if it’ll make you all stop asking! Ren and I… I don’t know, for as long as I’ve known him, and it’s been a very, very long time… We were just good together and…Lee was basically the cherry on top and I- maybe I loved him or we loved each other, whatever, it doesn’t matter.” He scoffed, adopting a more sardonic tone. “Anyway, MI6 called… I left. That’s it, I just left. I didn’t call or text, or even tell them anything, really. I couldn’t get them involved and I just thought… it’d be easier for them to forget if we… grew apart naturally. Stupid idea, I guess.” Ezekiel jumped up from his spot, the statue in one palm. “Listen, thanks for your concern, but don’t worry about me, we have bigger fish to fry right now.” He thumbed one of the statue’s eyes, prying it out of its spot. He gave the statue to Cassandra and held the marble up to the light. “Let’s go find us a kumiho.”

**Author's Note:**

> So... I wasn't really planning on writing them fighting the monster... but if you guys are interested, tell me what you want to see from this! I don't have much of an idea where I would go after this, so help me out! :) And sorry if I get anything wrong about the Korean legends! I utilized just the stuff I could find online.


End file.
